John French the son of Captain William French and Margaret Eccles, was born in Ripple, Kent in 1852. He joined the navy in 1866, but transferred to the army in 1874. He served with the 19th Hussars in the Sudan (1884-85) and was a cavalry commander in South Africa during the Boer War (1899-1901).

Appointed Chief of Staff of the British Army in 1911, French took command of the British Expeditionary Force sent to Europe in August 1914. Ironically, his sister, Charlotte Despard, was one of Britain's leading anti-war campaigners.

After Mons French became very pessimistic about the outcome of the war and Lord Kitchener, Secretary for War, had to apply pressure in order to persuade him to take part in the Marne offensive. French resigned in December, 1915 and Sir Douglas Haig replaced as leader of the BEF.

French, as commander of the British home forces, was responsible for dealing with the Easter Rising in 1916. Rewarded with the post of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1918-1921), French was granted ?50,000 by the British government when he retired. Sir John French died in 1925.